Olaf Stapleton wrote a book called First and last Men, in which he looked millions of years ahead．He told of different men and of strange civilizations (文明), broken up by long ‘dark ages’ in between. In his view, what is called the present time is no more than a moment in human history and we are just the First Men. In 2 000 million years from now there will be the Eighteenth or Last Men.

    However, most of our ideas about the future are really very short-sighted．Perhaps we can see some possibilities for the next fifty years. But the next hundred? The next thousand? The next million? That’s much more difficult.

    When men and women lived by hunting 50 000 years ago, how could they even begin to picture modern life? Yet to men of 50 000 years from now, we may seem as primitive(原始的) in our ideas as the Stone-Age hunters do to us. Perhaps they will spend their days making new spundels, or struggling with their ballalators through the tribe. These words, which I have just made up, have to stand for things and ideas that we simply can’t think of.

    So why bother even to try imagining life far in the future? Here are two reasons. First, unless we remember how short our own lives are compared with the whole human history, we are likely to think our own interests are much more important than they really are. If we make the earth a poor place to live on because we are careless or greedy (贪婪) or quarrelsome,  our grand-children will not bother to think of excuses for us.

    Second, by trying to escape from present interests and imagine life far in the future, we may arrive at quite fresh ideas that we can use ourselves. For example, if we imagine that in the future men may give up farming, we can think of trying it now.  So set your imagination free when you think about the future.

1. A particular mention made of Stapleton’s book in the opening paragraph ________.

A．serves as a description of human history

B．serves as an introduction to the discussion

C．shows a disagreement of views

D．shows the popularity of the book

2. Spundels and ballalators are used in the text to refer to ______.

A．tools used in farming

B．ideas about modern life

C．unknown things in the future

D．hunting skills in the Stone Age

 

Decision-thinking is not unlike poker—it often matters not only what you think, but also what others think you think and what you think they think you think. The mental process (过程) is similar. Naturally, this card game has often been of considerable interest to people who are, by any standards, good thinkers.

    The great mathematician John Von Neumann was one of the founders of game theory. In particular, he showed that all games fall into two classes: there are what he called games of “perfect information”, games like chess where the players can’t hide anything or play tricks: they don’t win by chance, but by means of logic and skills. Then there are games of “imperfect information”, like poker, in which it is impossible to know in advance that one course of action is better than another.

    One mistaken idea about business is that it can be treated as a game of perfect information.  Quite the reverse. Business, politics, life itself are games which we must normally play with very imperfect information. Business decisions are often made with many unknown and unknowable factors (因素) which would even puzzle (困惑) best poker players. But few business people find it comfortable to admit that they are taking a chance, and many still prefer to believe that they are playing chess, not poker.

The subject discussed in this text is _______.

A．the process of reaching decisions

B．the difference between poker and chess

C．the secret of making good business plans

D．the value of information in winning games

 

Betty and Harold have been married for years. But one thing still puzzles (困扰) old Harold．How is it that he can leave Betty and her friend Joan sitting on the sofa, talking, go out to a ball game, come back three and a half hours later, and they’re still sitting on the sofa? Talking?

    What in the world, Harold wonders, do they have to talk about?

    Betty shrugs.  Talk? We’re friends.

    Researching this matter called friendship, psychologist Lillian Rubin spent two years interviewing more than two hundred women and men. No matter what their age, their job, their sex, the results were completely clear: women have more friendships than men, and the difference in the content and the quality of those friendships is “marked and unmistakable.”

    More than two thirds of the single men Rubin interviewed could not name a best friend．Those who could were likely to name a woman. Yet three-quarters of the single women had no problem naming a best friend, and almost always it was a woman. More married men than women named their wife/husband as a best friend, most trusted person, or the one they would turn to in time of emotional distress (感情危机). “Most women,” says Rubin, “identified (认定) at least one, usually more, trusted friends to whom they could turn in a troubled moment, and they spoke openly about the importance of these relationships in their lives.”

    In general, writes Rubin in her new book, “Women’s friendships with each other rest on shared emotions and support, but men’s relationships are marked by shared activities. ” For the most part, Rubin says, interactions (交往) between men are emotionally controlled  a good fit with the social requirements of "manly behavior.”

    “Even when a man is said to be a best friend,” Rubin writes, “the two share little about their innermost feelings. Whereas a woman’s closest female friend might be the first to tell her to leave a failing marriage, it wasn’t unusual to hear a man say he didn’t know his friend’s marriage was in serious trouble until he appeared one night asking if he could sleep on the sofa.”

1. What old Harold cannot understand or explain is the fact that ______.

A．he is treated as an outsider rather than a husband

B．women have so much to share

C．women show little interest in ball games

D．he finds his wife difficult to talk to

2. Rubin’s study shows that for emotional support a married women is more likely to turn to ________.

A．a male friend

B．a female friend

C．her parents

D．her husband

3. According to the text, which type of behavior is NOT expected of a man by society?

A．Ending his marriage without good reason.

B．Spending too much time with his friends.

C．Complaining about his marriage trouble.

D．Going out to ball games to often.

4. Which of the following statements is best supported by the last paragraph?

A．Men keep their innermost feeling to themselves.

B．Women are more serious than men about marriage.

C．Men often take sudden action to end their marriage.

D．Women depend on others in making decision.

5. The research done by psychologist Rubin centers around ________.

A．happy and successful marriage

B．friendships of men and women

C．emotional problems in marriage

D．interactions between men and women

 

Holidaymakers who are bored with baking beaches and overheated hotel rooms head for a big igloo. Swedish businessman Nile Bergqvist is delighted with his new hotel, the world’s first igloo hotel. Built in a small town in Lapland, it has been attracting lots of visitors, but soon the fun will be over.

    In two weeks’ time Bergqvist’s ice creation (作品) will be nothing more than a pool of water. “We don’t see it as a big problem,” he says, “We just look forward to replacing it.”

    Bergqvist built his first igloo in 1991 for an art exhibition. It was so successful that he designed the present one, which measures roughly 200 square meters. Six workmen spent more than eight weeks piling 1 000 tons of snow onto a wooden base；when the snow froze, the base was removed. “The only wooden thing we have left in the igloo is the front door,” he says.

    After their stay, all visitors receive a survival certificate recording their success.  With no windows, nowhere to hang clothes and temperatures below 0℃, it may seem more like a survival test than a relaxing (轻松的) hotel break. “It’s great fun,” Bergqvist explains, “as well as a good start in survival training.”

    The popularity of the igloo is beyond doubt: it is now attracting tourists from all over the world．At least 800 people have stayed at the igloo this season even though there are only 10 rooms. “You can get a lot of people in,” explains Bergqvist. “The beds are three meters wide by two meters long, and can fit at least four at one time.”

1. Bergqvist designed and built the world’s first igloo hotel because _____.

A．he believed people would enjoyed trying something new

B．he wanted to make a name for small town

C．an art exhibition was about to open

D．more hotel rooms were needed

2. When the writer says “the fun will be over,” he refers to the fact that _____.

A．hotel guests will be frightened at the thought of the hard test

B．Bergqvist’s hotel will soon become a pool of water

C．holidaymakers will soon get tired of the big igloo

D．a bigger igloo will replace the present one

3. According to the text, the first thing to do in building an igloo is _____.

A．to gather a pool of water

B．to prepare a wooden base

C．to cover the ground with ice

D．to pile a large amount of snow

4. When guests leave the igloo hotel they will receive a paper stating that _______.

A．they have visited Lapland

B．they have had an ice-snow holiday

C．they have had great fun sleeping on ice

D．they have had a taste of adventure

 

A child’s birthday party doesn’t have to be a hassle; it can be a basket of fun, according to Beth Anaclerio, an Evanston mother of two, ages 4 and 18 months.

    “Having a party at home usually requires a lot of running around on the part of the parents, and often the birthday boy or girl gets lost in wild excitement. But it really doesn’t have to be that way,” said Anaclerio. Last summer, Anaclerio and her friend Jill Carlisle, a Northbrook mother of a 2-year-old, founded a home party-planning business called “A Party in a Basket”. Their goal is to help parents and children share in the fun part of party planning, like choosing the subject or making a cake, while they take care of everything.

    Drawing on their experiences as mothers, they have created (制作) ten ready-to-use, home party packages. Every thing a family needs to plan a party, except the cake and ice cream, is delivered to the home in a large basket.

    “Our parties are aimed for children two to ten,” Anaclerio said, “and they’re very interactive (互动) and creative in that they build a sense of drama based on a subject. For example, at the Soda Shoppe party the guests become waiters and waitresses and build wonderful ice cream creations. ”

    The standard $ 200 package for eight children includes a basket filled with invitations, gifts, games and prizes, paper goods, a party planner and the like. For more information, call Anaclerio at 708-864-6584 or Carlisle at 708-205-9141.

1. The main purpose of writing this text is

A．to share information about party planning

B．to introduce the joys of a birthday party

C．to announce a business plan

D．to sell a service

2. The most important idea behind the kind of party planning described here is that

A．it brings parents and children closer together

B．guests play a part in the preparation of a party

C．parents are spared the trouble of sending invitations

D．it provides a subject of conversation

3. What does the underlined word “hassle”(Paragraph 1) probably mean?

A．a party designed by specialists

B．a plan requiring careful thought

C．a situation causing difficulty or trouble

D．a demand made by guests

 

Treasure hunts (寻宝) have excited people’s imagination for hundreds of years both in real life and in books such as Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island．Kit Williams, a modern writer, had the idea of combining the real excitement of a treasure hunt with clues (线索) found in a book when he wrote a children’s story, Masquerade,  in 1979. The book was about a hare, and a month before it came out Williams buried a gold hare in a park in Bedfordshire. The book contained a large number of clues to help readers find the hare, but Williams put in a lot of “red herrings”, or false clues, to mislead them.

    Ken Roberts, the man who found the hare, had been looking for it for nearly two years. Although he had been searching in the wrong area most of the time, he found it by logic (逻辑), not by luck.  His success came from the fact that he had gained an important clue at the start. He had realized that the words: “One of Six to Eight” under the first picture in the book connected the hare in some way to Katherine of Aragon, the first of Henry Ⅷ’s six wives. Even here, however, Williams had succeeded in misleading him. Ken knew that Katherine of Aragon had died at Kim Bolton in Cambridge shire in 1536 and thought that Williams had buried the hare there. He had been digging there for over a year is fore a new idea occurred to him.  He found out that Kit Williams had spent his childhood near Amp hill, in Bedfordshire, and thought that he must have buried the hare in a place he knew well, but he still could not see the connection with Katherine of Aragon, until one day he came across two stone crossed in Amp hill Park and learnt that they had been built in her honor in 1773.

    Even then his search had not come to an end．It was only after he had spent several nights digging around the cross that he decided to write to Kit Williams to find out if he was wasting his time there. Williams encouraged him to continue, and on February 24^th 1982, he found the reassure, It was worth ￡3 000 in the beginning, but the excitement it had caused since its burial made it much more valuable.

1. The underlined word “them” (Paragraph1) refers to _____.

A．red herrings

B．treasure hunts

C．Henry Ⅷ’s six wives

D．readers of Masquerade

2. What is the most important clue in the story to help Ken Roberts find the hare?

A．Two stone crosses in Amp hill.

B．Stevenson’s Treasure Island.

C．Katherine of Aragon.

D．Williams’ hometown.

3. The stone crosses in Amp hill were built _______.

A．to tell about what happened in 1773

B．to show respect for Henry Ⅷ’s first wife

C．to serve as a road sign in Amp hill Park

D．to inform people where the gold hare was

4. Which of the following describes Roberts’ logic in searching for the hare?

A．Henry Ⅷ’s six wives

k;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold'>4. The person who finally proved Fermat’s Last Theorem is ______.

A．Simon Singh

B．Andrew Wiles

C．Pierre de Fermat

D．a French woman scientist

5. What is the purpose of writing these three texts?

A．To make the books easier to read.

B．To show the importance of science.

C．To introduce new authors.

D．To sell the books.

 

g=EN-US style='mso-bidi-font-size:10.5pt; color:black'>causes misunderstanding among the readers

 

yle='mso-bidi-font-size:10.5pt; color:black'>B．Katherine’s burial place at Kim Bolton

C．Williams’ childhood in Amp hill

D．Katherine of Aragon

e．stone crosses in Amp hill Park

A．a, b, c, e, d

B．d, b, c, e, a

C．a, d, b, c, e

D．b, a, e, c, d

5. What is the subject discussed in the text?

A．An exciting historical event.

B．A modern treasure hunt.

C．The attraction of Masquerade.

D．The importance of logical thinking.

 

LONDON (Reuters) —Organic fruit, delivered right to the doorstep. That is what Gabriel Gold prefers, and he is willing to pay for it. If this is not possible, the 26-year-old computer technician will spend the extra money at the supermarket to buy organic food.

    “Organic produce is always better,” Gold said．“The food is free of pesticides (农药), and you are generally supporting family farms instead of large farms. And more often than not it is locally (本地) grown and seasonal, so it is more tasty. ” Gold is one of a growing number of shoppers buying into the organic trend, and supermarkets across Britain are counting on more like him as they grow their organic food business. But how many shoppers really know what they are getting, and why are they willing to pay a higher price for organic produce? Market research shows that Gold and others who buy organic food can generally give clear reasons for their preferences—but their knowledge of organic food is far from complete. For example, small amounts of pesticides can be used on organic products. And about three quarters of organic food in Britain is not local but imported(进口) to meet growing demand．“The demand for organic food is increasing by about one third every year, so it is a very fast-growing market,” said Sue Flock, a specialist in this line of business.

1. More and more people in Britain are buying organic food because _______.

A．they are getting richer

B．they can get the food anywhere

C．they consider the food free of pollution

D．they like home-grown fruit

2. Which of the following statements is true to the facts about most organic produce sold in Britain?

A．It grows indoors all year around.

B．It is produced outside Britain.

C．It is grown on family farms.

D．It is produced on large farms.

3. What is the meaning of “the organic trend” as the words are used in the text?

A．Growing interest in organic food.

B．Better quality of organic food.

C．Rising market for organic food.

D．Higher prices of organic food.

4. What is the best title for this news story?

A．Organic Food—healthy, or Just for the Wealthy?

B．The Making of Organic Food in Britain.

C．Organic Food—to Import or Not?

D．Good Qualities of Organic Food.

 

In 1901, H.G. Wells, an English writer, wrote a book describing a trip to the moon. When the explorers (探险者) landed on the moon, they discovered that the moon was full of underground cities. They expressed their surprise to the “moon people” they met. In turn, the “moon people” expressed their surprise. “Why,” they asked, “are you traveling to outer space when you don’t even use your inner space?”

    H.G. Wells could only imagine travel to the moon. In1969, human being really did land on the moon. People today know that there are no underground cities on the moon. However, the question that the “moon people” asked is still an interesting one. A growing number of scientists are seriously thinking about it.

    Underground systems are already in place.  Many cities have underground car parks. In some cities, such as Tokyo, Seoul and Montreal, there are large underground shopping areas. The “Chunnel”, a tunnel (隧道) connecting England and France, is now complete.

    But what about underground cities? Japan’s Taisei Corporation is designing a network of underground systems, called “Alice Cities”. The designers imagine using surface space for public parks and using underground space for flats, offices, shopping, and so on. A solar dome (太阳能穹顶) would cover the whole city.

    Supporters of underground development say that building down rather than building up is a good way to use the earth’s space. The surface, they say, can be used for farms, parks, gardens, and wilderness. H.G. Wells’ “moon people” would agree. Would you?

1. The explorers in H. G. Wells’ story were surprised to find that the “moon people--

A．knew so much about the earth

B．understood their language

C．lived in so many underground cities

D．were ahead of them in space technology

2. What does the underlined word “it” (Paragraph 2) refer to?

A．Discovering the moon’s inner space.

B．Using the earth’s inner space.

C．Meeting the “moon people”.

D．Traveling to outer space.

3. What sort of underground systems are already here with us?

A．Offices, shopping areas, power stations.

B．Tunnels, car parks, shopping areas.

C．Gardeners, car parks, power stations.

D．Tunnels, gardens, offices.

4. What would be the best title for the text?

A．Alice—Cities of the Future.

B．Space Travel with H. G. Wells.

C．Enjoy Living Underground.

D．Building Down, Not Up.

 

At one time, computers were expected largely to remove the need for paper copies of documents (文件) because they could be stored electronically. But for all the texts that are written, stored and sent electronically, a lot of them are still ending up on paper.

    It is difficult to measure the quantity of paper used as a result of use of Internet-connected computers, although just about anyone who works in an office can tell you that when email is introduced, printers start working overtime. “I feel in my bones this revolution is causing more trees to be cut down,” says Ted Smith of the Earth Village Organization.

    Perhaps the best sign of how computer and Internet use pushes up demand for paper comes from the high-tech industry itself, which sees printing as one of its most promising new markets. Several Internet companies have been set up to help small businesses print quality documents from a computer. Earlier this week Hewlett-Packard Co. announced a plan to develop new technologies that will enable people to print even more so they can get a hard copy of a business document, a medical record or just a one-line e-mail, even if they are nowhere near a computer.  As the company sees it, the more use of the Interact the greater demand for printers.

    Does all this mean environmental concerns ( 环境问题) have been forgotten? Some activists suggest people have been led to believe that a lot of dangers to the environment have gone away. “I guess people believe that the problem is taken care of, because of recycling (回收利用 ),” said Kelly Quirke, director of the Rainforest Action Network in San Francisco. Yet Quirke is hopeful that high-tech may also prove helpful. He says printers that print on both sides are growing in popularity. The action group has also found acceptable paper made from materials other than wood, such as agricultural waste.

1. The growing demand for paper in recent years is largely due to _________.

A．the rapid development of small businesses

B．the opening up of new markets

C．the printing of high quality copies

D．the increased use of the Internet

2. Environmentalists believe one possible way of dealing with the paper situation is __________.

A．to encourage, printing more quality documents

B．to develop new printers using recycled paper

C．to find new materials for making paper

D．to plant more fast-growing trees

3. Hewlett-Packard Co. has decided to develop new technologies because ______.

A．people are concerned about the environment

B．printers in many offices are working overtime

C．small companies need more hard copies

D．they see a growing market for printers

4. What would be the best title for the text?

A．Computers and Printers

B．E-mail and the Business World

C．Internet Revolution and Environment

D．Modern Technology and New Markets

 

There is one foreign product the Japanese are buying faster than others, and its popularity has caused an uneasy feeling among many Japanese.

    That product is foreign words.

    Gairaigo-words that come from outside-having been part of the Japanese language for centuries. Mostly borrowed from English and Chinese, these terms are often changed into forms no longer understood by native speakers.

    But in the last few years the trickle (涓涓细流) of foreign words has become a flood, and people fear the increasing use of foreign words is making it hard for the Japanese to understand each other and could lead to many people forgetting the good qualities of traditional (传统的) Japanese.

    “The popularity of foreign words is part of the Japanese interest in anything new,” says university lecturer and writer Takashi Saito. “By using a foreign word you can make a subject seem new, which makes it easier for the media (媒体) to pick up. ”

    “Experts (专家) often study abroad and use English terms when they speak with people in their own fields. Those terms are then included in government white papers,” said Muturo Kai, president of the National Language Research Institute. “Foreign words find their way easily into announcements made to the general public, when they should really be explained in Japanese.”

    Against the flow of new words, many Japanese are turning back to the study of their own language. Saito’s Japanese to Be Read Aloud is one of many language books that are now flying off booksellers’ shelves.

    “We were expecting to sell the books to young people,” said the writer, “but it turns out they are more popular with the older generation, who seem uneasy about the future of Japanese. ”

1. What advantage do foreign words have over traditional Japanese terms?

A．The ideas expressed in foreign words sound new.

B．Foreign words are best suited for announcements.

C．Foreign words make new subjects easier to understand.

D．The use of foreign words makes the media more popular.

2. In the opinion of Takashi Saito, Japanese people ______.

A．are good at learning foreign languages

B．are willing to learn about new things

C．trust the media

D．respect experts

3. Which of the following plays an important part in the spread of foreign words?

A．The media and government papers.

B．Best-selling Japanese textbooks.

C．The interest of young Japanese.

D．Foreign products and experts.

4. The book Japanese to Be Read Aloud _____.

A．sells very well in Japan

B．is supposed by the government

C．is questioned by the old generation

D．

k;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold'>4. The person who finally proved Fermat’s Last Theorem is ______.

A．Simon Singh

B．Andrew Wiles

C．Pierre de Fermat

D．a French woman scientist

5. What is the purpose of writing these three texts?

A．To make the books easier to read.

B．To show the importance of science.

C．To introduce new authors.

D．To sell the books.

 

g=EN-US style='mso-bidi-font-size:10.5pt; color:black'>causes misunderstanding among the readers